chainsaw mill Portable Chainsaw mill 36" Inch steel and Aluminum Planking Milling Bar Size Cutting Milling

Worked superb. Much better than the pivoting "beam machine" type millsWith a 25" stihl bar I was able to cut just over 20.5" wide logs (but I had to remove the dogs on the saw to go that wide).The Chain saw itself is the biggest liability when using this mill.A 14' long (15" diameter) western hemlock log took about 20 minutes of continuous running at max capacity.Chainsaws are not really designed for this kind of abuse.My 70cc "Stihl 440" felt like it was right at its comfortable limit on 20" wide logs... 15" felt a lot better.Tips:To minimize abuse on the Chainsaw:Use the biggest chainsaw powerhead you can get.GET A RIPPING/ MILLING CHAIN... (or 2) and don't use the milling chain for any dirty work... Keep the ripping chain pristine... any uneven sharpening will create more chatter and less effective cutting and more abuse on the chain saw.A sponge type air filter is helpful for the fine dust and keeping air flowing through and cooling the saw.(I have heard that a larger muffler hole (or multi port muffler) can also help with cooling (and HP and air flow), but it is much louder).Exploit breaks (giving your chainsaw a chance to cool). A good time to shift wedges closer to the cutting area.Pivoting the chainsaw back and forth will reduce the amount of wood in contact with the chain and can be helpful in taking some strain off the saw.Professional loggers tend to back the saw off the cut slightly every 3-5 seconds and feather the throttle to clear sawdust from the kerf and oil out of the carburetor. Similar methods may help with milling.Tips for milling:I used the "Touri Chainsaw Mill Rail Guide" with 2x4s to guide the initial cut and it worked good... log surface imperfections must be cut off so that the 2x4s have clearance over the whole log... metal guid beams would probably be superior, but the wood 2x4s allow some creativity in screwing the boards to weird/ irregular logs.With the "Touri rail guide", the initial cut needs to be about 6.5" to give clearance for the "rail guide" and then, after the 1st flat surface is created, the mill can be adjusted to the slab width you desire. It is handy to have a 13mm socket on a cordless drill handy to loosen/tighten the 4 bolts for thickness adjustment.My slabs ended up being about 1/16" narrower than the markings on the mill posts.The posts are 14" tall and the mill should work on cutting slabs/beams up to 14" deep.Working with the flat surface created by the Touri jig, it is important to have the short guide bar on the mill (the short aluminum rail under the grip handle that runs perpendicular to the two 36" rails) positioned on the mill so that it is running over the flat surface (not of to the side of the log)... this will ensure that the initial cut into the wood is engaged at the same angle as the flat surface on the log.Purchasing tips:I wish I had purchased a 24" unit instead of the 36" unit. Working with a stack of logs, the hardest and most time consuming part was moving the logs into position to allow clearance room for the mill to run over the log, without hitting nearby logs or stumps... since I was running a 25" bar and chain (and feel I would need a bigger chainsaw to go bigger), I did not need the extra 12"... and it was often difficult to position the log so that the mill would not hit nearby stumps and logs.I purchased the mill from this vendor here on amazon, but I believe one could find the same unit for significantly less at "farmertec", ordered directly from china. I have bought from farmertec before successfully for saw parts and tool, but note that the shipping and taxes are significant. (Warning: the Farmertec stihl knock off chainsaws can work okay if the crank-arm is replaced with a stihl stock crank arm, and the piston and head replaced by italian made meteor parts... also the fuel and oil lines should be stock... Basicly, the non moving parts on the saw are generally adequate)Assembly tips:The "owners manual" has some basic guidelines for assembly, but it may be more useful to assemble by looking at the photos on line. The mill kit that I received had enough washers for every bolt and some additional lock-washers that I did not use. They did not seem necessary.

The assembly went quick with the instructions provided appears to be a solid frame for the Alaska chainsaw mill. The instructions could add a little bit more information for set up before cutting for the lead in support bar which is the middle bar. It would not be centered on the frame it’s off to the left or the right depending on which way you set yourself up for cutting. A Husqvarna or Stihl chainsaw with a 36 inch bar is best.

I still need to design & build a ground guide. Some kits include that - not this one. The first cut needs to be straight, so this guide needs to rest on something besides the raw log, for first cut. No problem for me.Also, the instructions are terrible. In the end, I ignored the instructions and just put it together the way that made more sense to me. I will probably replace some of the nuts with wingnuts and others with locknuts.Good enough for the price.

The mill preformed well but they need to use hardened bolts that will withstand on and off use multiple times.after about three times of loosing and tightening they striped out . Making me have to stop what i was doing and search out new U Bolts.i used automotive exhaust U Bolts and they worked well .

Easy to install saw. Took a bit completely figure out how to get a nice cut. Once able to get that. It earned it's worth on the first project.

None works great thanks

This is advertised as a 36" mill. It will clamp on to a 36" bar, however, it will not cut 36". The most clearance we could get was just over 30".I had a ladder so we could establish a flat slab, then just used the previous cut as the level surface.It is a stable frame, and did perform as expected. Adjusting for various thicknesses was simple, however you have to take care in setting equal thicknesses for each side to ensure parallel-ish cuts.We made 5/4" slabs. I'm not sure how well it would work trying to make 6" thick slabs (which is how thick/high the scale goes).Slabbing a log is tough work. This made it a little easier to make consistent thickness slabs. You still have to push the chainsaw through the log. Maybe next time we'll rig a pully system to assist.